Last Updated: 03/03/2008  14:31

British porn baron Raymond dies

Porn baron and property magnate Paul Raymond has died, it was announced today.

Paul Raymond was worth €850 million

Mr Raymond (82), once dubbed the King of Soho, opened the only premises in Britain to stage live striptease shows in 1958.

His porn magazines included Razzle, Men's World and Mayfair , and he was thought to be worth £650 million (€850 million).

In the late 1960s Raymond bought the Whitehall Theatre in London's West End and put on farces such as Yes, We Have No Pyjamas.

In 1971, he returned to porn publishing with the launch of Men Only , and his magazines became the first top-shelf glossies.

Raymond used the police crackdown on Soho's sex industry in the 1970s to buy up vacant property in the area, later expanding to west London. In recent years, his fortune waned due to competition from lads' magazines such FHM .

PA

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